“YOU! Yes you, the young brown haired girl, on the top corner of the stand.”
It took several seconds for Katie to realize Sorcerer Spectra was pointing right at her. A cold chill ran through her entire body.
She looked at Nate. Nate was facing back at her a stunned look on his face. No, Katie realized. He wasn’t just stunned, he was horrified.
“Come on, now, there’s no need to be afraid.” Said the Sorcerer. “It’ll be fun!”
“Don’t stand up!”, Nate whispered. Katie looked out to the stage. The entire audience was looking at her, and the Sorcerer seemed to be staring right into her eyes, daring her to even try to resist. Katie remembered the Sorcerer’s magical powers. What would she do to her if she stayed in her seat? Maybe something even worse?
She glanced at Nate, and something else came to her head. What if the Sorcerer figured out that Nate was her twin brother? Could Spectra force them both on stage together?
With a gulp and shivering knees, Katie stood up.
“There we go, come on down! Let’s give our brave volunteer a round of applause everyone!”
Applause filled the tent. Nate was about to reach for Katie’s sweater to yank her back down, but Katie already started her walk down the steps of the bleachers.
“Katie!!”. Nate was mentally punching himself for not being fast enough. Now, he was left watching helplessly as his sister headed down to be the Sorcerer’s magical plaything.
Katie, on the other hand, was thinking about running out the tent the moment she got the chance. But something about the applause, and the Sorcerer’s gaze, kept her from even changing the pace of her steps.
Katie’s legs felt completely like jelly as she stepped onto the stage, and she accidentally tripped and fell forward onto the stage floor. This earned her several giggles from the audience. Blushing, Katie moved to pick herself up, but then a larger hand grasped her left arm and pulled her up.
“There we go,” Sorcerer Spectra said, as Katie found her footing again. The young girl’s cheeks went even pinker when she realized how close she was to the naked Sorcerer and her exposed breasts and privates. Katie kept her eyes glued to the stage floor while the Sorcerer towered over her. “What’s your name, young lady?”
“...k-k-Katie,” Katie stammered, with her hands grasping each other tightly. She gave the Sorcerer only a slight glance.
“Katie, that’s a nice name,” said the Sorcerer. “And how old are you?”
“Um..…ten?”
“Ten, I see. Well, it seems like you’re a little scared, is that right Katie?”
Katie didn’t know where she was going with this, but she nodded. The Sorcerer kneeled down to her eye level. “Tell me. Are you scared that I’ll turn you into something you won’t like?”
Katie nodded again.
“Are you scared that everyone in the audience will laugh at you?”
“Yes,” Katie squeaked. The Sorcerer moved her face closer towards Katie, so close that her pointed nose was barely an inch away from Katie’s face
“Oh, or are you scared that whatever I do to you, you’ll be stuck with it forever?”
Katie bit her lips tightly. She didn’t know how to reply.
Strangely, the Sorcerer gave a gentle smile, and put a hand on Katie’s shoulder. “I promise you this. Whatever magic I cast on you, it’s going to be fun. And I promise you, at the end of all this, you’ll walk out of this stage the same way you came in: a normal, human ten-year old girl. Is that okay?”
Katie thought about this. The Sorcerer could be lying; she seemed like someone who’d be very happy to play tricks on people. And the Sorcerer did make her come on stage even when she was too scared. Or was that just her?
Katie nodded.
“Alright!” The Sorcerer stood up and faced the audience. “Now, Katie is very brave for coming up on stage tonight. And we’re going to support her! LET'S CLAP FOR HER AGAIN!”
The audience obeyed, and applauded.
“NOW, before we start, we’ll have to do one thing.”
The Sorcerer looked down at Katie, who felt like a mice being looked down at by a devious looking cat.
“Katie, this is going to be a little embarrassing, but we’ll have to take your clothes off.”
Katie’s eyes went wide with shock. There were several very unhelpful ‘oooooh’s’ coming from the kids in the audience. Katie looked up at the Sorcerer, maybe she said heard the wrong words?
“I can’t do my magic on you if you’re wearing clothes,” the Sorcerer continued. “They might get damaged!”
Katie felt her knees quaking even more. It was like something out of one of her nightmares, the ones where she’d find herself in her underwear in front of kids in her school. Only this time, she wouldn’t even have underwear.
“Now don’t worry, I’ll be naked with you too, remember? And I will make sure you won’t be laughed at."
The Sorcerer turned towards the audience.
“You hear this, boys and girls? I want you to be respectful to Katie as I change her. No laughing, no giggles. If I hear anything, I’d be most happy to bring you up on stage and make you naked as well….ah, you hear that, boy?”
Sorcerer Spectra was pointing at a boy in the audience, who was laughing loudly just moments ago. Katie realized that she was pointing towards Caleb, who now looked unable to utter a single word.
“You don’t want to come up here too, do you?”
Caleb shook his head in fright (much to the amusement of his sister, who sat beside him). The Sorcerer grinned. Nobody else dared to laugh after that.
“Alright then. Now, Katie, you don’t have to take them off yourself, I’ll make it quick with my magic. Are you ready?”
Katie felt a little easier, but her knees were still shaking. She looked at the stands where Nate was sitting. Nate was holding up both his hands, and motioning them dramatically over his eyes. Katie almost smiled.
Taking a deep breath, Katie nodded. Sorcerer Spectra’s grin went even wider.
“Alright.”
She snapped her fingers. Instantly, a swirl of fog surrounded Katie with a sudden whoosh, and nearly knocked Katie backwards. But Katie found her feet rooted to the spot, unable to even budge. Her entire body felt numb, her ears were deafened by the roaring wind, and the strange magical fog made her basically blind.
And just as quickly as it started, the wind stopped. The fog parted away, and Katie found herself able to see the tent and the audience again. Immediately, she looked down at her body.
Katie’s cheeks went redder than strawberries.
“Alright, let’s give brave Katie more clapping!”, Sorcerer Spectra called out. At her order, the kids in the tent applauded without any laughing, all while Katie was looking quite mortified. Every kid in the audience now had a full view of the front of her nude body, including the little peachy slit between her legs (which she was now shielding with her hands). There wasn’t a single trace of her clothes anywhere.
“Don’t worry about your clothes, you’ll get them back eventually,” the Sorcerer assured, as the clapping of the audience faded. Katie felt the sorcerer’s hands gently grasping both her shoulders. She shivered, both from the Sorcerer’s touch and the cold air brushing her skin.
Katie felt more embarrassed than ever. And yet, with what just happened to her, why wasn’t she crying? She never even felt tears welling up, not even once. Was she really braver than before?
“Now, if you’re brave enough to stand on stage like this, you’re brave enough to face my magic. So…TIME TO BEGIN!”